


Tigers at Teatime

by beautifulandsweet



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Protectiveness, Tea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2019-10-25 15:58:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17728295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulandsweet/pseuds/beautifulandsweet
Summary: When Yukino wagered her life, Kagura took the bet to heart. She did not insist on Yukino joining Mermaid Heel, but she does insist on visiting Yukino once a month for afternoon tea.Yukino appreciates these visits. Her guildmates do not.





	1. One

When Kagura Mikazuchi walked into the Sabertooth Guild, Sting Eucliffe met her at the door with crossed arms and fangs bared. “Here to pick up where we left off?” he asked.

Yukino had been sitting nearby, playing patty cake with Frosch. Before she even registered who had arrived, Rogue had positioned himself between her and the door. Curious, Yukino peered around him. She had not seen Kagura since the ball in Crocus, almost two months ago. 

That night had been… tumultuous, but Yukino thought everyone had left on good terms. It startled her to see her guildmates bristling at the sight of someone that Yukino would have considered an ally.

"I'm not here to fight, if that's what you mean." Kagura met Sting’s open glare with a completely blank expression, but she rested one hand lightly on her hip. She could have passed for a bored schoolgirl if it weren’t for the fact that her hand was resting an inch above the hilt of her famed sword, the same Archenemy that had defeated Opiuchus.

Sting glanced down at the sword and sneered, but before he could say anything, Rogue interrupted.

“If you’re not here to fight,” Rogue asked in a neutral voice, “then why are you here?”

Kagura looked over and spotted Yukino behind Rogue. Kagura smiled and held up a hand in a greeting. “Yukino. I’m here to pick you up.”

“Huh?” Yukino gently handed off Frosch to Rogue before joining Sting and Kagura by the door. She quickly realized that a small crowd of her guildmates had stopped to watch the situation, and she could feel her face heating up under all the attention. How embarrassing to cause such a scene. "Um, what's this about?"

Kagura stared blankly at her. "I told you before that I take my bets seriously. Didn't I tell you that your life belongs to me now?"

A warm hand clamped down on Yukino’s shoulder. "Like hell it does," Sting growled.

"I'm not insisting on her joining a _decent_ guild," and there was definitely a fire in her gaze when Kagura returned Sting's glare, "but I insist on taking her to tea. I don't think that's unreasonable. What do you say, Yukino?"

Yukino glanced worriedly between the two powerful mages. Surely they would not come to blows over someone as inconsequential as her. Rogue lingered nearby, and despite the way he held Frosch in front of him, he leaned forward on light feet as if prepared to leap into action. Was he actually worried about her, or just the potential bloodshed if she refused to go?

Yukino had to fix this before things got out of hand.

"It's okay." She patted Sting's hand where it rested on her shoulder. His expression softened when he looked at her, a silent question in his face. "She won’t hurt me.”

“Of course not. You have my word.”

“Maybe we can go to the coffee shop around the corner?” Yukino suggested. “It's in walking distance and has a wonderful lavender-honey blend." 

"I trust your judgement." Kagura gave her a curt nod before turning to Sting with a smirk. "Don't worry, little tiger. I'll bring her home in one piece."

Sting looked ready to deck her whether she was a girl or not, but Rogue stepped closer and murmured something too low for Yukino to hear. Sting relaxed marginally and released his grip on Yukino’s shoulder. "Fine. Don't let her bully you into anything." 

Yukino smiled. "I won't. I’ll bring you back some of those cookies you like."

Sting turned away, but he rubbed the back of his neck, the way he did when he was embarrassed. Rogue returned Yukino’s smile. “Have fun,” he said. “We’ll see you when you get back.”

 

“What a delightful little shop,” Kagura said. She sipped her black tea from a delicate china teacup. “How did you find this place?”

Yukino cupped her own tea in her hands. She was almost too nervous to drink it, but she hoped the lavender scent would calm her down. “Oh, um, it was Min-- never mind.”

Kagura glanced around the shop with its little bistro tables and the bakery display full of scones and iced sugar cookies. “Minerva brought you here? It’s okay to say her name. I’m not one to fear the mere mention of an enemy.”

“Enemy?” Yukino gulped. Maybe she should not have been so quick to assume Kagura had come as a friend.

Yet Kagura continued to sip her tea and watch the people lining up at the counter for their drinks. She gave Yukino a gentle smile. “Yes. Are you so surprised by that? After all, Minerva tortured my dear friend. Millianna was, and is, under my protection. I do not easily forgive those that would harm the dear ones that I protect.”

“Is that why you’re here?” Yukino asked. “You want to get even with Minerva?” That would have been impossible, anyway. No one had seen or heard from Minerva since they left Crocus. 

“No.” Kagura tilted her head. “I thought it was obvious. That wager made me responsible for your life. Now I want to protect you, too.”

“What?” Yukino blushed. “Oh, um, that’s not necessary…”

“It is.” Kagura set down her teacup. “So, how is everyone treating you at your guild? I still can’t believe you returned to Sabertooth after everything they put you through.”

Yukino wanted to sink into the floor. “F-fine. They’re all nice to me.”

“That sounded convincing.”

“No, it’s true.” Yukino stared into her cup. “Sting, um, talks to me now. He asks for my advice. And Rufus asked me to go on a job just last week.”

“And your shadow?”

“What shadow?”

Kagura lifted a finger and pointed out the window at a small shrub, one of those bushes used to add greenery to the street. It took Yukino a minute to realize that its shadow was cast in the wrong direction for this time of day.

“I thought he’d be stealthier,” Kagura said.

Yukino was mortified. Did Rogue not trust her? Did someone put him up to this? Did the guild think she was leaving them? A dozen thoughts flashed through Yukino’s mind, all of them leaving her eyes watering.

“Excuse me.” Yukino pushed her chair back. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Brushing aside the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks, Yukino rushed outside to confront the shadow dragon slayer. Between the time she walked out of the coffee shop and the time she reached the shrub, Rogue had materialized from the strange shadow.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “She’s not really bullying you, is she?”

Yukino glared at him. “Of course not! What are you doing here, Rogue? Are you spying on me?”

Rogue frowned. “I’m watching your back.”

Yukino’s anger vanished in an instant. “What?”

Rogue folded his arms. “Of course I’m here to watch your back. Kagura’s strong, and known to hold a grudge. Did you really think we’d let you face her alone?”

“Oh.” Yukino tucked her arms around her own stomach. “Well, thank you, but I’ve got this under control. Really, she’s here as a friend.”

Rogue looked at the shop. Behind the window, Kagura waved. “You’re sure?”

“She said she wants to protect me.” Yukino could not help smiling. “She wanted to make sure everyone at Sabertooth is treating me well.”

Rogue stared at her. “... and?” he asked.

“And I’m going back inside now,” Yukino said. “Go tell Sting that I’m okay, and tell him I’m not rewarding this kind of behavior. He can forget those cookies.”

Rogue laughed. “Have fun,” he said again, and disappeared before she got back to her seat inside.

“So where were we?” Yukino asked.

Kagura smiled. “You were telling me about your friends.”


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter so many times. With this set of characters, between polite Yukino and blank-faced Kagura, it has been so difficult to insert any tension into this story... but more of that in the next chapter.

“Why did you join Sabertooth?” 

Yukino tilted her head. It had been weeks since her first meeting with Kagura when she showed up at the guild once more, traded sneers with the dragon slayers, and practically dragged Yukino away for tea-- not that Yukino resisted. She had just finished telling Kagura about the new developments at Sabertooth, including the new pool and the day spent searching for the lost Frosch. 

Eventually her stories had run out. Yukino had been a bit at a loss. She rarely had so much to say, or someone patient enough to listen so long. Kagura’s question caught her by surprise.

“Why did I join?” Yukino plucked a sugar cube out of the dish in the middle of the table and fiddled with it. “No one’s really asked me that before.”

Kagura raised an eyebrow. “Oh, but they’ve thought it. You’re like a lamb among the lions.”

“Really.” With her nail, Yukino scratched some sugar onto her saucer. “That’s…”

“It’s not that you’re weak,” Kagura said, “it’s that you’re so gentle compared to those ruffians.”

The word “ruffians” made Yukino laugh, and she could not deny that the label fit. “But they’re not bad people,” she said with a little smile. “Rufus is so brilliant, and Orga just wants to keep everyone around him happy. Then there’s Rogue, who takes the supportive role even when he’s mad at you.”

Kagura tapped her fingers along the edge of the table. “And what about your young guildmaster? What’s so great about him?”

Yukino hesitated, not sure where to start with Sting, but before she could say anything, Kagura laughed. “Oh, I’m going to tell him you couldn’t think of anything.”

“Please don’t.”

Kagura waved her hand. “Anyway, you decided to join Sabertooth because…”

By now, Yukino had worried the sugar cube into a pile of white grains. With a little sigh, she tucked her hands over her lap. “I guess it’s because… well, you know I don’t have very good luck.”

Kagura gestured for her to continue, and she did. “When I was little, I was so clumsy and always breaking things. Messing everything up. But I had a big sister who was so beautiful and kind and always defending me. I wanted to be just like her, but when we were still very young, she was kidnapped. I never saw her again.”

Kagura flinched, but when she did not say anything, Yukino continued. “I learned celestial magic as a way to make friends. Maybe that sounds pathetic, but my spirits became my greatest comfort. Then, a couple years ago, I saw part of the Grand Magic Games. I managed to catch the end of a match between the Twin Dragons and a pair of wizards from Lamia Scale. I didn’t know them as Sting and Rogue back then. They were so strong, so confident… and they had each other’s backs like my sister used to have mine.

“I learned more and more about Sabertooth, and the more I saw, the more I knew that I wanted to be like them.” At Kagura’s incredulous expression, Yukino just smiled. “I know they can be rough around the edges, but they are also… forces of nature. No one messes with them. At least, not until Fairy Tail returned.”

“Another pack of ruffians,” Kagura commented.

“Yes,” Yukino agreed, “and if things had turned out differently, I may have joined them instead. I think Fairy Tail may have set a good example for us. Ever since Sting took over as guild master, he’s started to act a little bit like Natsu. He’s always wearing this goofy grin now.”

 

Yet, when Yukino returned to the guild, Sting met her with a deep frown. 

“I hope you didn’t listen to a thing that harpy said.” When Yukino breezed by him to hang up her cape, he stomped along behind her. “It’s unprofessional, poaching people from other guilds…”

Yukino let him grumble as he followed her into the kitchen, where she set a kettle on the stove. Sting scowled at it, too. “You haven’t had enough tea?”

“Tea is good for you. It might calm your nerves.” As much as Sting’s jealous grumbling gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling, Yukino wished he could see the opportunity in front of him. “You know, it might not be a bad idea to make nice with Kagura. It could improve interguild relations.”

“That’s true,” Lector said as he jumped onto the counter. “Hey, Yuki, can you make me some of that catnip tea?”

“Is that a thing?” Sting asked, curiosity distracting him from his grumbling. 

“Sure.” Yukino pulled a jar of herbs from the cupboard. “Do you know that I used to grow this when I was little and still living on the farm?”

“You grew up on a farm?” Lector asked. “Did you have chickens and pigs and everything?”

“Yes, but I was so clumsy that I mostly stayed in the garden, where I couldn’t break much of anything.” Yukino realized she had never told anyone at Sabertooth much about her childhood. Wondering how much she should say, Yukino backed up to rest her arm on the counter.

She did not notice the plate that someone had left on the counter until she knocked it off, but before it could hit the floor, Sting caught it one-handed.

Startled, Yukino placed a hand over her heart. Some small part of her expected them to laugh or scold her for being careless, but there was that goofy grin as Sting set the plate in the sink.

“Not much has changed, huh?”

As Lector leaned his head against Yukino’s shoulder and let her scratch behind his ears, Yukino ducked her head to hide a little smile of her own. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”


	3. Three

Yukino stared at the job board. She liked to stake out the board early in the morning and find the jobs that suited her best, usually something that required a lighter touch than rooting out criminals or diving into some beast's lair. This week had been unusually quiet, however, and she did not like her chances with most of these jobs. Everything sounded harrowing for a wizard working on her own. 

Sure, Yukino had taken job requests with the other wizards of Sabertooth, but she mostly worked by herself. That way, her bad luck didn't hurt anyone else, and it did not give anyone else a chance to judge her when things invariably went sideways. 

She used to be so afraid that if someone saw her mess up, then she would have to leave the guild. Now, of course, she had lived through that nightmare and come out the other side. She was pretty sure that no one wanted rid of her now, but still, she hesitated to take jobs with anyone else in case they saw her fumble and prove her less than stellar skills.

A warm clap on her back interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, Yukino," Orga said. "Have you picked a job yet?" 

"Not yet," she admitted. "Not a lot to choose from this week."

From a nearby table, Rufus lifted a gloved hand in greeting. "Join us, then. Care to discuss it over tea?"

Startled, Yukino pointed at herself. "Me?"

Orga gently steered her toward the table in question. "Sure. We just picked a job and thought you might want to tag along."

"Me?" Yukino repeated dumbly.

Before she knew quite what had happened, Yukino was seated at the table between Orga and Rufus with a cup of tea pressed into her hands. Not wanting to be rude, she took a sip. The flavor wasn't at all what she expected. It took her a moment to place the flavor of nuts, coconut, and...

"Is that banana?"

Orga grinned. "It's a rooibos blend. I picked it up last time I went home. Tastes like banana bread, right?"

Yukino smiled back. "It does. I didn't know you liked tea." 

"He just has a sweet tooth." Rufus's cup sat cooling beside him as he flipped through a pile of papers on the table before him. "If I recall, you enjoyed tea with Miss Kagura, so we thought we'd indulge as well."

"Not everyone can stomach that battery acid you call coffee." Orga scowled over his own cup, which he held by the rims like he was doing a shot. "He drinks it by the carafe, Yuki. If he just spent some more time in the sunshine, he wouldn't need so much of it."

"And damage this beautiful skin? No, thank you." Rufus slid a sheet of paper across the table. "Anyway, we're leaving for Deptford in a few hours. Plenty of sun on the coast."

Orga nudged Yukino. "We could use your particular skillset, if you're feeling up to it."

She picked up the flyer. The owner of a ferry had requested a couple wizards to deal with a sea monster living right in the middle of where he transported people between islands. The reward was substantial enough to make Yukino nervous. "What kind of monster are we talking about?" she asked.

"I don't recall any large marine animals in that region," Rufus said. "Do you suppose a whale came that close to shore?"

"Wrong time of year for that." Orga shrugged. "Might be a giant sea slug or a lusca."

"What's a lusca?" Yukino asked.

"A ghost story," Rufus said.

"It is not. Gimme a pen." Rufus passed Orga a light pen, and Orga scribbled a glowing picture in the air, a cartoonish shark with exaggerated teeth. Then, instead of a tail, Orga drew a bunch of squiggly tentacles.

Yukino grimaced. "I hope it's not that."

Orga pointed the pen in her direction. "Oh, you're definitely coming now that you've jinxed us." 

If Yukino flinched at the word "jinx," Rufus didn't give her a chance to overthink it. He produced a train schedule and went over travel logistics as Orga and Yukino finished their tea.

"Don't worry," Rufus said. "We're three of the best that Sabertooth has to offer. It'll be a cinch."

 

It wasn't a cinch.

"So you're telling me that the lusca is real?" Kagura asked. When Yukino realized the job had taken her so close to Mermaid Heel, she had made arrangements by lacrima to meet Kagura at this little roadside cafe. Instead of sitting at a table, they perched on a bench across the street from a playground and idly watched the kids running around as they talked. 

Yukino lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing a thick purple bruise that underlined her guild mark. “Real and angry.”

Kagura hissed in sympathy. "What did it look like?"

"Just like Orga said it would," Yukino admitted. "Lots of teeth, lots of tentacles."

Yukino was still drained after that fight. It started when the ferry started piping some kind of new music over its loudspeakers, ostensibly to keep passengers calm. The lusca emerged from the water a few minutes later and gripped the boat with tentacles as big as Yukino's arms.

Orga had knocked into Yukino, as if to stand back to back with her, but she hadn't expected it and went sprawling. "Cover me," he shouted. Electricity sparked between his palms.

"Stop it, you idiot!" Rufus gripped the railing with one hand and managed to flip through a thick text with the other. "Use your magic, and you'll fry us, too!"

That was when the lusca tried to climb aboard, causing the whole boat to tip under its weight. Rufus hardly budged, but Orga used the momentum to fling himself toward the nearest tentacle. He threw himself into yanking it off bare-handed. 

Yukino slid sideways a couple feet before finding her balance and grabbing her keys. "Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales!" Libra materialized in front of her, took one look at the situation with those inscrutable brown eyes of hers, and righted the boat with a flick of her wrist.

When the boat suddenly tipped upright, there was a volley of quick, loud pops as the lusca lost its grip on the boat, and the lusca came tumbling across the deck, wrecking everything in its path. Yukino had a close-up look at the beast's outlandishly large teeth before a flying tentacle knocked her sideways.

The next thing she knew, she was under the dark cold water. Thankfully, she kept a deathgrip on her keys.

"And Pisces saved the day," Kagura said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

Yukino sighed. "Yes. I guess that's why they invited me along in the first place." And that stung, even if she realized that it was just an assignment. 

Rufus had the foresight to realize that Orga's powers would be limited in the water. Still, the ferry owner had offered such a generous reward, it made sense that he and Orga had invited Yukino along to finish the job as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Kagura stared at her. "Why so glum, then? You finished the job."

"Yes." Pisces had fished Yukino out of the water and chased the lusca back out into open ocean. Libra had produced a set of dry clothes for Yukino before returning to the celestial world, and by the time Yukino had changed, Rufus had convinced the ferry owner to change out the lusca-attracting music. Everything had ended well.

So why did she feel so embarrassed?

"It's odd," Kagura said. "That Rufus? I've seen him devise some pretty clever spells. Why didn't he prepare anything? Surely they've run into a situation like this before."

"That's true." Yukino wrung out her hands. "Hey, Kagura? Do you take any jobs by yourself?"

"Sure, but not often anymore. I can't seem to get away without Risley or Millianna tagging along." Kagura grimaced, but Yukino thought she saw a pleased twinkle in her eye. “I did teach them a lot of their magic. I guess they want to return the favor by watching my back.”

Across the street, a couple little girls took turns pushing each other on the swings, which made Yukino smile. “I don’t think they’re returning a favor,” she said, nudging Kagura with her shoulder. “You’re friends, aren’t you?”

“Of course.” Kagura leaned back on the bench. “And Rufus and Orga? Are they your friends?”

Yukino started to shake her head, but then she glanced down at the tea in her hands. They had seemed disappointed when she broke off to meet Kagura after the job. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Kagura patted her head. "You know, Millianna is still disappointed that you didn't take up our offer to join Mermaid Heel. Maybe next time, I'll bring her along. She can give you the pitch again."

"I'd like that."


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be more Kagura-centric.

The next morning, Yukino considered staying in bed.

After she had said goodbye to Kagura, Yukino had returned to the train station just in time to watch her train leave without her. She wound up taking the last train back into the city. The station had been eerily abandoned at midnight, as were the rain-slick streets on the walk home. By the time she reached her apartment, Yukino had been drenched and too exhausted to do more than stumble into bed.

Between being dunked in the ocean yesterday and falling asleep in wet clothes, Yukino was not surprised to wake up with a chill and a sore stomach. She considered staying in bed for a few minutes before she finally crawled out from under the covers. 

“Today’s going to be a better day,” she muttered. “It has to be.”

Yukino stumbled through the motions of getting ready. She dressed, tucked her keys into her belt, and poured some tea into a thermos. She took a long sip as she locked up. The hot drink settled her stomach a little and gave her hope that she could power through the morning. 

It had become her habit to be the first one at the guild hall every morning. At first, she had done it out of insecurity. Yukino still felt like she had to prove herself as a Sabertooth wizard. She knew that she had been a poor substitute at the Grand Magic Games, a mere stand-in for the mighty Minerva. 

Yet she had been proud to make the team, and she had truly believed that luck had favored her for once. She could only summon her most powerful spirit once a year, and her chance had come just in time for the Games. Once a year, she knew she could win any battle with Ophiuchus at her back. 

Then Yukino had been reminded how weak she really was, and just like that, she lost her place at the guild. She reached such a low point that she even tried to give her spirits to another celestial wizard. She had let everyone down.

Seeing Kagura yesterday had reminded Yukino of her resolve not to let her friends down again. She still did not have Kagura’s strength and poise, and she still felt like an outsider at the guild sometimes.

Still… as the Sabertooth guild hall came into view with its ferocious tiger statue, Yukino felt a smile stretch across her face. Sting and Rogue, Rufus and Orga... they had been among the very people who had once laughed at her in her weakest moment. Yet they had invited her back to the guild. They had invited her on jobs. Maybe she still needed to sort out what kind of friendship she had with them all, but the truth was that she still very much wanted to be someone they could depend on.

Even for something as simple as showing up early each morning. 

 

As Yukino approached the entrance of the hall, a familiar voice called out, “Good morning, Yuki!” She turned just in time to see a red cat leaping into her arms. She dropped her thermos in order to catch him, and tea splattered across the entrance.

“Good morning, Lector.” She could not resist hugging the little cat. He was just so warm and soft. It was strange to think that, even a few months ago, she had been too intimidated to approach the Exceed, let alone cuddle with him first thing in the morning.

A lot of that had to do with the dragon slayer jogging up behind him. Sting huffed a hello as he went right by her to lean his forehead against the cool brick beside the door. A towell hung around his neck, but a line of sweat dripped down the side of his face. “Too early for this,” he whined. 

Yukino unlocked the door. “I thought you liked running in the morning.”

“No one actually likes running,” he complained, “but if I just sit behind a desk all day, I’m going to be the shape of a beach ball.”

Yukino glanced down at his muscled stomach and somehow doubted that he had anything to worry about, but then Lector murmured, “It’s true, yes.” 

Sting scowled at the Exceed in mock outrage, but he shrugged it off quickly enough. As Yukino ducked inside, he squatted down and wiped up the spill with the towel from around his neck. For Yukino, it was a bit of a surreal moment to see the guildmaster cleaning up a spill, like watching a king putter around a pumpkin patch. 

“Yukino?” Lector touched a paw to her cheek. “You okay? You’re all red.”

Sting glanced up and, mistaking her red face, gave her a big wink. Yukino brushed a hand over her eyes and started off on her usual routine. She did her best to ignore the laughter behind her. 

She carried Lector against her hip as she took a turn around the hall. She turned on lights, pulled back curtains, and nudged a bench back under a table with her heel. When she lifted the dropcloth off the job board, the dust made her sneeze. 

Across the room, Sting stopped in the door to his office. He leaned backward. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Yukino set aside the folded dropcloth. Then she sneezed again.

“Hey now, don’t be dropping my cat.” Sting swiveled around and crossed the room. In one smooth movement, he scooped Lector out of her grasp and pressed his palm to her forehead. “Whoa. You are burning up.”

“I feel fine.”

Lector scrambled up to Sting’s shoulder, which freed his hands up to steer Yukino to the nearest bench. “Stay here a minute. I just need to grab the ledger and leave a note for Rogue, and then I’ll walk you back.”

“I don’t need to go home.”

“You want to get everyone else sick?” Sting cringed, hearing how harsh he sounded a moment too late. His face did a round of expression gymnastics. “What would Kagura say if she found out I made you come to work when you’re sick?” 

Yukino shrugged. “I don’t think she’s the type to take sick days, either.”

“Uh huh.” Sting wrinkled his nose. “Geez, can’t believe I didn’t smell it before. You reek like a cold.”

This time the blush was real. “I smell?”

“You shouldn’t talk to a lady like that,” Lector said from Sting’s shoulder.

“The lady should have stayed home if she didn't feel good.” Sting glared at her, and for a moment, Yukino was reminded of the Sting who once terrified her, the vicious Twin Dragon who would have run her right out of the guild if he smelled weakness. That is what he smelled, right?

Then Sting’s face softened, and it was just her friend standing there again. “Sorry,” he muttered as he looked away. “Just wish you would have said something.”

As soon as he left to write his note, Yukino shifted so that she could press her forehead against the table. The cool wood felt nice against her face, but she could not be sure whether the heat came from a fever or plain embarrassment. She should have stayed in bed after all, if all she could accomplish was to distract the guildmaster from his duties.

At first the burning in her eyes felt like a symptom left over from her short night. Maybe she really had caught a cold. Her throat did feel tight. As if on cue, she coughed, and she felt a rush of humiliation when the cough sent a round of thick, hot tears spilling down her face.

She pushed herself away from the table and jerked upright. She could not do this here, not in front of anyone.

“Yukino?”

Too late. She hid her face in her hands as she turned to go, but before she could take more than a step, a pair of strong arms had wrapped around her from behind.

“Sorry.” Sting leaned his forehead against her hair. “I didn’t realize you felt that bad.”

“I-- I--” Yukino wanted to reassure him that she was fine again, really, it was a cold, not a serious injury… but the word never made it past the lump in her throat. Instead, she hiccuped and turned so that she could hug Sting back.

“It’ll be okay,” Lector said as he joined the hug, too. “We promise.”

 

After Yukino dried her tears, Sting walked her home. He had acquired a shirt, and Yukino had acquired an armful of warm, purring Exceed. Sting had tried to object, telling Lector that a sick person did not need to be carrying a heavy cat around, but as soon as Yukino snuggled Lector close to her shoulder, Sting relented. Lector seemed to fall asleep as soon as they started walking, but Yukino suspected that he was faking it so that he could avoid another lecture.

“How’d you get sick, anyway?” Sting asked. The sun had come up by now, and people had filtered onto the street around them. It amused Yukino that they gave Sting a wide berth, even when he walked with his hands tucked casually behind his head.

So Yukino told him about falling in the ocean, the late train, and the walk home in the rain. 

“You walked home by yourself?”

“Not by myself.” She jingled her keys. “I wasn’t alone.”

Sting frowned at her. “Next time, let one of us know. Send a lacrima message. Someone will walk with you.”

“You don’t have to--”

“But we want to,” Sting interrupted. He abruptly stopped and faced her with folded arms. “I hate this. I thought we were doing better, but…”

“Sting?” Yukino would have said something more, but just then, a coughing fit struck. Lector whined sympathetically. “I guess I’m coming down with something after all,” Yukino joked weakly.

Sting busied himself with giving the hairy eye to some young man who had drifted too close. “A couple years ago, Minerva got really mad at us. She refused to talk to any of us for a week. It wasn’t until later that we realized she had lost her voice.” 

Yukino frowned. Aside from some rumors that Minerva had been seen traveling with another wizard to the west, no one had seen or heard from her for months. Her name rarely came up. People avoided using her name around Sting, who still kept Lector closer than ever since Minerva had taken him. Yukino had not been there to see what happened with Jiemma or at the last match against Fairy Tail, but she had heard the stories. 

Minerva had always treated Yukino fairly, if distantly. Minerva had recruited Yukino to the guild, but they never talked much after that. She knew that Minerva had been closer with the Twin Dragons, so it had been that more obvious when Sting stopped talking about her. Until now, apparently.

“Minerva only pretended to be mad at us so that Jiemma wouldn’t realize she was sick,” Sting said. Then he looked Yukino in the eye. “You know you don’t have to do that, right? You can be sick. You don’t have to pretend to be invincible.”

Yukino nodded. “I know.”

He smiled. It was like some dark cloud had lifted off his mind and let a little light peek out of his eyes. “Good. We want you around, Yukino. We didn’t take very good care of each other before, but I want to think that we’re learning.”

Yukino hugged Lector closer. “Thank you.”

 

The next morning, Yukino woke up completely refreshed. She even sat by her window and watched the sunrise before she started the day.

When Sting arrived at the hall and found her wiping down tables, he looked like someone had smacked him with a broom. “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled. “You should be resting.”

“I feel better.” Yukino flexed a muscle, as if to show how much better she felt. “I could take on the world… or maybe just a new job.”

Lector huffed. “No way. People don’t get over colds that fast, not even Sting.”

“It must have been those magical cat cuddles,” she teased him.

For some reason, Sting turned red and looked away. After a moment, it seemed like he had decided to drop the subject. “Well, if you take a job today, you better take someone with you.”

Yukino smiled, but before she could reply, Orga banged the door open. “Yukino! We heard you got sick! What’re you doing out of bed?”

“She’s had a miraculous recovery,” Sting deadpanned. With a lazy grin, he collected Lector and turned to go. 

“You shoulda seen your girl the other day.” Orga fell into step with Sting as they retreated toward the guild office. “Took care of that lusca like it was nothin’...”

Yukino could feel the heat of a blush on her face, but she was distracted by a loud sigh from Rufus. “He’s been rubbing it in my face ever since the lusca turned out to be real. It’s a shame that Pisces scared it away so quickly. I don’t recall any literature confirming its existence, so we may have missed out on an opportunity.”

Yukino smiled encouragingly. “Maybe next time.” 

“Next time,” Rufus agreed. Then he ran a finger along the rim of his hat. “So… Kagura left a lacrima message for you yesterday. Just what did you tell her about Rogue? After he talked to her, he was a bear to spar with.”

“Oh dear.” Yukino cringed. “I may have mentioned that day that Frosch went missing…” 

Rufus chuckled. “That explains it. Anyway, Kagura seemed to think you were feeling melancholic the other day, so she wanted to check on you.”

Yukino tried to imagine Kagura using the word “melancholic.” Then she realized that Rufus was staring at her.

“Were you sick the day that we worked together?” he asked. “I don’t recall you mentioning anything, but then, I don’t remember checking on you after we parted ways in Deptford, either. I sincerely apologize.”

“Oh, there’s no need...”

“There is.” Rufus grimaced. “Our lord and master over there told us about your conversation yesterday. I just wanted to let you know that Orga and I both look at you as a teammate. We have ever since you joined us in Crocus. Teammates look after each other. I should have realized that something was wrong.”

“I should have said something, too,” Yukino admitted. “It just felt awkward, you know? We’re still new at being…” She hesitated.

“Friends?” Rufus offered. “True. It’s not exactly a familiar word around here. Awkward indeed.”

Yukino’s hand brushed over her stomach, where she had been carrying a ball of anxiety ever since she suspected Rufus had only asked her along to use her particular magic. Sharing a tentative smile with him now, she could feel the anxiety dissolve like sugar in warm water.

She decided to take a chance. She reached into her pocket and unfolded a job flyer. “Since you and Orga chose last time, maybe you’d like to join me for another job?”

Rufus studied the paper with the ominous haunted house logo stamped on the bottom. “Sounds intriguing. Maybe the big lug can show off his lightning and quit haranguing me about silly sea monsters.” 

Yukino laughed, and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she was truly a part of something good.


End file.
